Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Back in the U.S.A.

We made it back to the U.S. Yesterday we left Raduim Hot Springs and drove south on highway 95 crossing into the U.S. at Eastport, Idaho. There was a line of cars at the border but fortunately it moved quickly. The border guard who questioned us for a few minutes had an odd style of questioning and we were unsure if this reflected a lack of social skills or an attempt to intimidate or throw us off our guard, but it was quick and not really unpleasant.

We used the last of our Canadian cash to pay for the campground (they do it like a hotel, where you pay when you check out). We were past the point where we usually fill up with fuel, but we guessed correctly that fuel would be cheaper in the U.S. than in Canada so we waited to fill up after the border. In lieu of a truck stop we pulled into a gas station with a lot of room. The fuel was cheaper than we have seen for some time and offered a 5 cent a gallon discount for cash. Dennis went in to ask if they needed prepayment for the cash price. When they said yes, he said "here's $400 for pump 5", and the startled clerk who had not seen what we were driving seemed astounded saying "You want $400 worth of gas!" Fortunately we only needed 125 gallons so we got some change.

Dennis has been concerned about an oil leak in our engine. The mechanic who changed our oil in Whitehorse said that it needed to be repaired by an engine shop but should be able to wait "until you get home" which was reassuring as he had noticed the Florida plates. But we decided to contact the Detroit Diesel shop in Spokane as we can't really see an advantage to waiting to get the problem repaired and we have the time now. We had been told they would look at it today but when we called to confirm they said they were really busy and asked if we could come in tomorrow instead. So we decided to stop for a couple of days at the Little Diamond NACO park in Newport, Washington. This is a relaxing place with a lot of room and a lot of woods and not many people. There is not a lot to do but we don't mind for a couple of days. We will go on to the shop tomorrow.

We are noticing signs that we are back. We got back just in time for a warming trend. We ran our a.c. today for the first time in at least 2 months. And it gets dark before we go to bed. It seems odd now for it to be dark at 9 o'clock in the evening.